Livingstone cuts council tax rise

Ken Livingstone's proposed increase in council tax bills has been trimmed back for the second time.

The Mayor wants an average London household to pay £17 more a year from April - equivalent to a 7.5 per cent increase.

Mr Livingstone, who was adopted as the official Labour mayoral candidate-last week, has been able to rethink his plans after being promised more money from the Government for police and firefighters.

He had initially sought to push his share of the council tax up by 12 per cent, although this was reduced last month to 9.9 per cent, or £23 a year. However if this figure - more than three times the rate of inflation - had been approved, it would have caused embarrassment to ministers, who have threatened to cap "excessive" increases.

Now, if the 7.5 per cent increase is approved by the London Assembly next week, then the Mayor's charge on a benchmark band D home will rise from £224 to £241.

Average bills in London are likely to top £1,100 as a result, once the 33 boroughs set their budgets.

The Mayor said: "Londoners will still see the new neighbourhood policing teams, the extra firefighters and transport police but the good news is that this will cost less."